ronnie_suburban

I wouldn't waste much time over-analyzing it =R=

October 12, 2005... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Sip some wine, sample some food, and learn about Chicago's culinary scene...Bill Daley previews the 3rd annual Chicago Wine & Food Festival, taking place October 21-23 at Kendall College and other various locations throughout the city. Our kind of food town...Virginia Gerst visits with several local food-industry professionals to assemble her portion of a pull-out-section preview of the upcoming Chicago Wine & Food Festival. And in a companion piece, Playing favorites, Ms. Gerst talks to several area "big-wigs" about their favorite local spots. 10 Chicago icons...Robin Mather Jenkins contributes to the Chicago Wine & Food Festival preview with this odd but provocative list of famed local fare. Taste test...Tribune food & wine reporter Bill Daley shares some of his techniques for setting up a successful tasting. Grill-In!...in this "special" to the Tribune, Rick Asa explores indoor winter grilling options for those who are too faint of heart to dust a little snow off their Weber kettles. Stories--and some soup...Renee Enna reviews The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups: Recipes & Reveries by David Ansel. Red pears...food editor Carol Mighton Haddix with a useful guide. Pint-sized pyamid...nutritionist Janet Helm reports on the U.S. government's recently-unveiled nutritional guidelines for children. How to make the most of autumn's apple harvest...James P. Dewan with this week's Prep School installment. The (urban) hunt is on for mild-flavored venison...Donna Pierce puts on the orange jumpsuit of journalism. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: Fun is the special of the day...Sandy Thorn Clark reports on "corporate dropouts" Kim Shambrook and Jeannie Lukow who founded ". . . Bespoke Cuisine, a boutique catering and culinary services business specializing in unique cooking parties for 12 to 36 guests at their Restaurant Row location. . . " Child's play...Jennifer Olvera tries to understand why cuisine for kids is so often dumbed down. Make food festive!...Sandy Thorn Clark with her take on the kid-version of the U.S. government's "My Pyramid" nutritional guidelines. Fund-raiser caters to black-tie crowd, young professionals...Denise I. O'Neal reports on how Meals on Wheels has revamped its annual fund-raising event. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk's weekly preview includes upcoming events at Viand Bar & Kitchen, Harry Caray's and Vittorio De Roma. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Chase away autumn's chill with warm soup...as colder weather approaches, food editor Deborah Pankey sings the praises of the Culinary Institute of America's Book of Soups. Memories are made of this...Laura Bianchi visits with local wine enthusiast ". . . Christopher McAlpine of Cary [who] owns enough wine to open a neighborhood bistro. . ." ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby preview Kim & Scott’s Pretzel Bakery and Twisting Café, a kid-friendly cafe set to open in the new Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview. ===== =R= <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you.

Strike that . . . upon further consideration (damn! I wish I had more of them so I could be absolutely sure ) it was pistachios, not pumpkin seeds. =R=

I stopped into Sarah's last Friday and really enjoyed my visit. The shop is beautiful and the offerings were terrific. We spent some time chatting with Alexa, who was running the shop while Sarah was out. She explained that while they've been doing wholesale business for quite some time, the shop -- and the retail side of the business -- are about a month old. All in all, we probably ended up trying more things that molto e did -- but there were 3 of us splitting those items over a couple of days The pecan-caramel bars were probably my favorite item but nothing we tried wasn't delicious. The raspberry bars were wonderful. Their crust was rich and buttery and the filling was aromatic, tart and just sweet enough. The sour cream coffee cake was moist and tasty. We loved the croissant and the brioche as well. Sarah's chocolate chip cookies are definitely for mature auidences; not overly-sweet and containing bittersweet chocolate, if I'm not mistaken. The frosted sugar cookies were great as were the tender, moist and delicious blueberry muffins. We also tried a few of Sarah's confections. The rocky road clusters (3 versions covered in white, milk and dark chocolate respectively) were wonderful. So too were the coconut "crunch" items which were also available in the 3 different coverings. My favorites, however, were the off-beat chocolate "delights" (I think that's what they were called), which really satisfied. They were bite-sized clusters of nuts and seeds which were covered in the 3 aforementioned chocolates. They contained roasted pumpkin seeds which were an inspired addition. The aftertaste of the chocolate and roasted pumpkins seeds together was sublime and worthy of deep contemplation I'm really glad I got a chance to try out Sarah's stuff (thanks molto e). I don't get down to the Gold Coast very often but if I did, I'd be hitting Sarah's on a regular basis. =R=

Absolutely! =R=

I received the following message from Restaurant August this morning: Good news! =R=

Thanks, Bret, for the link and the information. Do you know of any similar opportunities in Danielle's neck of the woods? =R=

I wish I could help with this. I thought I remembered some previous threads but my searches turned up empty. Hopefully, someone will come through for you with a reliable source. =R=

To sound like an insider, that would be "A2 threads". . . ← Thanks for the heads up =R=

Thanks, edsel, for the link: =R=

I'll let you know (eventually) and thanks for the tip! =R=

My one experience at M&S's was at one of their Boston outposts a couple of years back. It didn't wow me but it was okay. Generally speaking, they're a high-volume place, so the turn-over should be steady -- and hopefully -- you can get good information from your server about what their freshest offerings are. That'd be the best tack, IMO. As for "signature" items, I seem to remember some good offerings on oystsers and it is the right time of year. hth, =R=

That was the impression I got, as well. =R=

Mark Caro (the journalist who wrote the piece which spurred this thread) visits Sonoma Foie Gras: From today's Chicago Tribune . . . Duck farm flap =R=

Scroll up. That story originally came from the NYT which printed a correction the next day. Still, the outlook isn't too bright. =R=

October 5, 2005... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Real ragu...Geoff Dougherty goes in quest of the "real" Bolognese sauce. A drier, crisper sherry for fall's flavors...Bill Daley guides us through the often misunderstood world of Sherry. Underground surprise draws 'em to covered bridge town...Jane Ammeson goes "underground" in Tangier, Indiana to discover a time-honored, local delicacy known as "buried beef." Culinary class is in session at Bouffe...Nancy Maes takes a look at this North-side gourmet hub. Kale...Renee Enna with a useful guide. Drink events...a brief overview of some upcoming tastings this week. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: Eating right's never easy -- at any age...Susan Figliulo explores strategies for better eating. Food stylist adds to show's flavor...Sandy Thorn Clark visits with food stylist Nancy Goodman whose latest work is featured in the FOX sitcom, Kitchen Confidential. Organic products stacking up...Denise I. O'Neal with brief overview of some currently-available organic products in the retail market. A dash of food...Denise I. O'Neal reports on the Ritz Carlton's special carb-heavy "Marathon" menu, designed by chef Kevin Hickey. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk's weekly preview includes upcoming events at Sofitel, Va Pensiero, The Palm and Portofino Italian Bistro. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Tale of two cities...food editor Deborah Pankey visits with Jean Joho and learns how he's mastered operating restaurants in Chicago and Las Vegas. There's more on Joho in this side-bar: Chef Jean Joho on ... Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report that Jackie Pluton has new home on the small screen. ===== =R= <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you.

According to a report in last Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times, Sugar has closed: Dessert bar Sugar shuts, but stay tuned =R=

Welcome, Redbeard, to the eGS =R=

More praise for chef Grant and Alinea; this time from Forbes, which included him in their list of the year's Tastemaker chefs: Tastemakers: Chefs =R=

Trio Atelier is now promoting their new fall menu which looks really nice. You can check it out here: Trio Atelier cuisine =R=

Well, I liked it more than you (considered it good but not great) but yes, I think the prime-time, broadcast venue (and all its limitations) prevented this show from being what it really could be. =R=

Yeah, especially considering that FOX likely has nothing but crap to replace it with. What's next? "I Married a Billionaire Princess Wannabe"? =R=

Thanks, Dick, for the recommendation. I'll have to check it out. I'm pretty sure we drove right past it on our way up. I'm not a huge fan of the what you aptly called the "carnival atmosphere," but when you have an 8-year-old, it actually makes the day go far more smoothly. =R=

No, just our apples, a pie-in-a-bag and some cider blends. I'm not saying raspberry butter doesn't sound good. But it was quite hot on Saturday and it just didn't seem very appetizing in that particular moment. BTW, my son has already requested that we make this an annual event and I'm okay with that. Considering my well-known curmudgeonliness, I guess that's fairly high praise. =R=

According to this NYT article, Kitchen Confidential has been yanked: =R=